Part 62 (1/2)

[Footnote A: We venture to publish the note in which the governor conveyed his invitation, simply because, though a trifle in itself, it will serve to show the estimation in which our mission was held.

”If Messrs. Kimball and Thome are not engaged Tuesday next, the Lieut. Governor will be happy to see them at dinner, at six o'clock, when he will endeavor to facilitate their philanthropic inquiries, by inviting two or three proprietors to met them.”

”_Government House, St. John's, Dec. 18th_, 1836.”

The conversation on the subject of emanc.i.p.ation served to show that the prevailing sentiment was decidedly favorable to the free system. Col.

Jarvis, who is the proprietor of three estates, said that he was in England at the time the bill for immediate emanc.i.p.ation pa.s.sed the legislature. Had he been in the island he should have opposed it; but _now_ he was glad it had prevailed. The evil consequences which he apprehended had not been realized, and he was now confident that they never would be.

As to prejudice against the black and colored people, all thought it was rapidly decreasing--indeed, they could scarcely say there was now any such thing. To be sure, there was an aversion among the higher cla.s.ses of the whites, and especially among _females_, to a.s.sociating in parties with colored people; but it was not on account of their _color_, but chiefly because of their _illegitimacy_. This was to us a new _source_ of prejudice: but subsequent information fully explained its bearings.

The whites of the West Indies are themselves the authors of that _illegitimacy_, out of which their aversion springs. It is not to be wondered at that they should be unwilling to invite the colored people to their social parties, seeing they might not unfrequently be subjected to the embarra.s.sment of introducing to their white wives a colored mistress or an _illegitimate_ daughter. This also explains the special prejudice which the _ladies_ of the higher cla.s.ses feel toward those among whom are their guilty rivals in a husband's affections, and those whose every feature tells the story of a husband's unfaithfulness!

A few days after our dinner with the governor and his friends, we took breakfast, by invitation, with Mr. Watkins, the _colored_ planter whom we had the pleasure of meeting at Millar's, on a previous occasion. Mr.

W. politely sent in his chaise for us, a distance of five miles, At an early hour we reached Donovan's, the estate of which he is manager. We found the sugar works in active operation: the broad wings of the windmill were wheeling their stately revolutions, and the smoke was issuing in dense volumes from the chimney of the boiling house. Some of the negroes were employed in carrying cane to the mill, others in carrying away the _trash_ or _mega.s.s_, as the cane is called after the juice is expressed from it. Others, chiefly the old men and women, were tearing the mega.s.s apart, and strewing it on the ground to dry. It is the only fuel used for boiling the sugar.

On entering the house we found three planters whom Mr. W. had invited to breakfast with us. The meeting of a number of intelligent practical planters afforded a good opportunity for comparing their views. On all the main points, touching the working of freedom, there was a strong coincidence.

When breakfast was ready, Mrs. W. entered the room, and after our introduction to her, took her place at the head of the table. Her conversation was intelligent, her manners highly polished, and she presided at the table with admirable grace and dignity.

On the following day, Dr. Ferguson, of St. John's, called on us. Dr.

Ferguson is a member of the a.s.sembly, and one of the first physicians in the island. The Doctor said that freedom had wrought like a magician, and had it not been for the unprecedented drought, the island would now be in a state of prosperity unequalled in any period of its history. Dr.

F. remarked that a general spirit of improvement was pervading the island. The moral condition of the whites was rapidly brightening; formerly concubinage was _respectable_; it had been customary for married men--those of the highest standing--to keep one or two colored mistresses. This practice was now becoming disreputable. There had been a great alteration as to the observance of the Sabbath; formerly more business was done in St. John's on Sunday, by the merchants, than on all the other days of the week together. The mercantile business of the town had increased astonis.h.i.+ngly; he thought that the stores and shops had multiplied in a _ratio of ten to one_. Mechanical pursuits were likewise in a flouris.h.i.+ng condition. Dr. F. said that a greater number of buildings had been erected since emanc.i.p.ation, than had been put up for twenty years before. Great improvements had also been made in the streets and roads in town and country.

MARKET.

SAt.u.r.dAY.--This is the regular market-day here. The negroes come from all parts of the island; walking sometimes ten or fifteen miles to attend the St. John's market. We pressed our way through the dense ma.s.s of all hues, which crowded the market. The ground was covered with wooden trays filled with all kinds of fruits, grain, vegetables, fowls, fish, and flesh. Each one, as we pa.s.sed, called attention to his or her little stock. We pa.s.sed up to the head of the avenue, where men and women were employed in cutting up the light fire-wood which they had brought from the country on their heads, and in binding it into small bundles for sale. Here we paused a moment and looked down upon the busy mult.i.tude below. The whole street was a moving ma.s.s. There were broad Panama hats, and gaudy turbans, and uncovered heads, and heads laden with water pots, and boxes, and baskets, and trays--all moving and mingling in seemingly inextricable confusion. There could not have been less than fifteen hundred people congregated in that street--all, or nearly all, emanc.i.p.ated slaves. Yet, amidst all the excitements and compet.i.tions of trade, their conduct toward each other was polite and kind. Not a word, or look, or gesture of insolence or indecency did we observe. Smiling countenances and friendly voices greeted us on every side, and we felt no fears either of having our pockets picked or our throats cut!

At the other end of the market-place stood the _Lock-up House_, the _Cage_, and the _Whipping Post_, with stocks for feet and wrists. These are almost the sole relics of slavery which still linger in the town.

The Lock-up House is a sort of jail, built of stone--about fifteen feet square, and originally designed as a place of confinement for slaves taken up by the patrol. The Cage is a smaller building, adjoining the former, the sides of which are composed of strong iron bars--fitly called a _cage!_ The prisoner was exposed to the gaze and insult of every pa.s.ser by, without the possibility of concealment. The Whipping Post is hard by, but its occupation is gone. Indeed, all these appendages of slavery have gone into entire disuse, and Time is doing his work of dilapidation upon them. We fancied we could see in the marketers, as they walked in and out at the doorless entrance of the Lock-up House, or leaned against the Whipping Post, in careless chat, that harmless defiance which would prompt one to beard the dead lion.

Returning from the market we observed a negro woman pa.s.sing through the street, with several large hat boxes strung on her arm. She accidentally let one of them fall. The box had hardly reached the ground, when a little boy sprang from the back of a carriage rolling by, handed the woman the box, and hastened to remount the carriage.

CHRISTMAS.

During the reign of slavery, the Christmas holidays brought with them general alarm. To prevent insurrections, the militia was uniformly called out, and an array made of all that was formidable in military enginery. This custom was dispensed with at once, after emanc.i.p.ation. As Christmas came on the Sabbath, it tested the respect for that day. The morning was similar, in all respects, to the morning of the Sabbath described above; the same serenity reigning everywhere--the same quiet in the household movements, and the same tranquillity prevailing through the streets. We attended morning service at the Moravian chapel.

Notwithstanding the descriptions we had heard of the great change which emanc.i.p.ation had wrought in the observance of Christmas, we were quite unprepared for the delightful reality around us. Though thirty thousand slaves had but lately been ”turned loose” upon a white population of less than three thousand! instead of meeting with scenes of disorder, what were the sights which greeted our eyes? The neat attire, the serious demeanor, and the thronged procession to the place of wors.h.i.+p.

In every direction the roads leading into town were lined with happy beings--attired for the house of G.o.d. When groups coming from different quarters met at the corners, they stopped a moment to exchange salutations and shake hands, and then proceeded on together.

The Moravian chapel was slightly decorated with green branches. They were the only adorning which marked the plain sanctuary of a plain people. It was crowded with black and colored people, and very many stood without, who could not get in. After the close of the service in the chapel, the minister proceeded to the adjacent school room, and preached to another crowded audience. In the evening the Wesleyan chapel was crowded to overflowing. The aisles and communion place were full. On all festivals and holidays, which occur on the Sabbath, the churches and chapels are more thronged than on any other Lord's day.

It is hardly necessary to state that there was no instance of a dance or drunken riot, nor wild shouts of mirth during the day. The Christmas, instead of breaking in upon the repose of the Sabbath, seemed only to enhance the usual solemnity of the day.

The holidays continued until the next Wednesday morning, and the same order prevailed to the close of them. On Monday there were religious services in most of the churches and chapels, where sabbath-school addresses, discourses on the relative duties of husband and wife, and on kindred subjects, were delivered.

An intelligent gentleman informed us that the negroes, while slaves, used to spend during the Christmas holidays, the extra money which they got during the year. Now they save it--_to buy small tracts of land for their own cultivation_.

The Governor informed us that the police returns did not report a single case of arrest during the holidays. He said he had been well acquainted with the country districts of England, he had also travelled extensively in Europe, yet he had never found such a _peaceable, orderly, and law-abiding people as those of Antigua_.

An acquaintance of nine weeks with the colored population of St. John's, meeting them by the wayside, in their shops, in their parlors, and elsewhere, enables us to p.r.o.nounce them a people of general intelligence, refinement of manners, personal accomplishments, and true politeness. As to their style of dress and mode of living, were we disposed to make any criticism, we should say that they were extravagant. In refined and elevated conversation, they would certainly bear a comparison with the white families of the island.